1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for holding sacks and bags open in accordance with the preamble to Claim 1.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 AMD 1.98
Sacks and bags are frequently used to accommodate objects. Known examples are rubbish sacks, sacks for garden waste, packing waste, and the like. Each of these sacks forms a space for accommodating these objects, which, for example, are accommodated in these sacks for the purpose of transport or disposal. As materials for these accommodation sacks or bags, use may be made, for example, of textile materials, plastics, or nets. These different materials have in common the fact that they are flexible. The sack materials therefore do not form a solid body, with the result that an unfilled sack collapses in on itself. No objects can be filled into such a sack which has collapsed. Rather, it is necessary for this sack to be positioned in some way in such a manner that its opening is under tension. For example, a person is required to hold the sack open while a second person fills objects into it. Proposals have already been made for generic devices to position an accommodation sack in such a position when there is no person available to open the sack. These generic devices comprise, for example, as spreader elements, frames which can be inserted into the opening of the sacks. The opening edge of a sack can, for example, be guided to the outside or inside over a frame, and folded around the frame edges.
With regard to a device for the accommodation of objects, preferably of refuse, in particular of leaves and/or earth, with the device from DE 29900563 U1 a ramp is secured to the frame which opens the opening of the sack, so that the sack lying on the ground can be filled by the second hand of the person, while they hold the frame with the other. A drawback of the device according to DE 29900563 U1 is the fact that the device must be held by hand so that the frame stands perpendicular to the ground. If the frame is not held firmly, it falls over and the frame opening lies on the ground and the sack can no longer be filled.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,461 discloses a device similar to that of DE 29900563 U1 described heretofore. From U.S. Pat. No. 6,874,797 B2 a further device is known in which a sack is held open, this device having very large dimensions and the device is therefore not flexible and cannot, for example, be used in the garden.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,060 likewise discloses a device for holding sacks or bags open, in which the sack or bag is tensioned by two walls held parallel to one another, which are pushed into the sack, a further plate, perpendicular to the two plates being held and pushed into the sack, serving to keep the two perpendicular plates at a distance from one another and at the same time serving as a ramp. The wall elements pushed into place can be replaced by U-shaped tubular structures. The ramp can additionally be arranged in accordance with FIG. 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,060 so as to be capable of pivoting to one side of the frame, and therefore serves as a cover element. A drawback with this structure is the fact that, for example, the frame structure according to FIG. 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,060 can only be drawn out of the sack with difficulty after the sack has been completely filled, since unwieldy objects or branches can be caught in the U-shaped frame structure.
A similar device for holding sacks or bags open is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,530,533, in which rectangular frames of assembled plate elements hold open the sack opening, whereby the edges of the sack opening can be drawn through apertures in the frame structure, as a result of which the sack is secured to the frame structure.
From U.S. Pat. No. 4,664,348 a device for holding sacks or bags open is known, which is designed as a ring and can be tensioned into the opening of a sack manufactured especially for the device, and so holds the sack open. This device also has a ramp which serves to allow the sack to be filled more easily. Due to the special design of the sack, the device for holding it open is prevented from falling over.
From U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,027 a device for holding a sack open is likewise known, in which the frame is formed from rods, the sack being clamped between the frame structure and profile rods with a C-shaped cross-section which can be clipped in place. Secured to the lower rod by means of screws is a ramp element for easier filling of the sack. The ramp element serves at the same time to hold the frame element upright, so that the device and the sack secured in it can be set up perpendicular on the ground without the device falling over when the sack is being filled. This structure is not flexible in handling, due to the individual parts being screwed together, and, moreover, the device can easily fall over due to the relatively small surface it stands on.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,765,579 discloses a refuse container, in which a sack can be placed into a container and wherein the sack opening can be folded over to the outside over the upper edge of the container bucket and can be clamped by means of an upper frame, which can be pressed onto the opening of the bucket with its lower circumferential slot, so that the sack is held securely in the refuse container bucket and cannot collapse.
From U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,518 a device for holding sacks open is also known, which has a frame to which the opening of a sack can be secured. On its lower web the device has sharp claw elements which can be inserted into the ground, so that the frame of the device can be secured in its upright position on the ground and does not slip away when the sack being held open is being filled. A disadvantage is that during the filling and transport of the sack the claw elements can lead to injury.